Party Planning Ideas & Inspiration

August 29, 2008

My Challenge: a Great Wedding Under $5000

so, i am super excited about this post. i know i haven't posted in a while {thanks for reminding me!}, but i have been so busy getting ready for my newest challenge. a fabulous wedding under $5000.

a very good friend of mine got engaged to her long time boyfriend. my girlfriend recently decided to quit her job and go for her master's and PhD, and then she spent her savings on a big down payment for a beautiful old house. all her extra money is going into the new/old house, but she still wants to have a semi-traditional wedding.

so, she called me up to ask me if i could help her. she wants a 'real' wedding, but she only wants to spend about $5000. of course i eagerly accepted the challenge, and the wheels in my mind have not stopped spinning.

research, research, and more research!

so last weekend, laurel and i got inspired to play around with some pretty table-scapes.

she wants her colors to be inspired by the beach. yellow for the sun, blue for the water, and neutrals for the sand. the wedding and reception will be on the beach, so we have so much natural beauty to help us out.

here is what we came up with. i would love to know what you guys think.

this first table is more formal. we used plain white cotton tablecloths with a watery blue chiffon fabric layered over the top. white, dotted swiss napkin were placed on top of silver charger plates so the napkins could hang from the table giving the table drape and more volume. my girlfriend has asked if she can use my china, and i of course obliged that request.

the china is a limoges pattern from tiffany&co called moderne. we also used my grandmother's silver and my crystal. the silver is faneuil also by tiffany&co. the crystal is the hampton pattern, again, from tiffany. it's very pretty, but it's not terribly ornate or cut, but heavy enough to be warm and elegant.

we scattered small votive candles in white and pale green.

laurel did these centerpieces. she used floral frogs to create the centerpiece of hydrangea. i bought the flowers from costco for $9!

i think i spent about $12 on this table between the flowers and the candles.

this is the second table we created.

this table was much more casual, but super fun and quite lovely. using the same white tablecloth i found some really sweet seersucker and stripe table runners at Target! i crisscrossed the runners to create 'place mats' instead of charger plates.

laurel, aka miss crafty made napkin rings from seashells i bought while i was at the beach. i think i payed a quarter for each shell, maybe even less! she glued white ric-rac onto a wide tan grosgrain ribbon. she tied the ribbon/shell napkin ring around a plain white cotton napkin. these can be purchased anywhere for any price!

the dinnerware is from Sur la Table. the deep robin's egg blue dinner plates with the pale yellow salad plates really made this table come to life.

we scattered tea lights around the center of the table and under the centerpiece. the flowers, again, Costco!! for $16.

we just basically threw more seashells around the table. i bought these seashells for my daughter and i think i spent about $10 on all of them.

i didn't want to use my formal crystal on this table, so we used some of my everyday wine glasses i found at Pier 1. i think i payed $3-4 per glass.

the sterling champagne bucket was also my grandmother's, and the bottle of perrier jouet in the bucket probably helped give me my late night energy to get this all done! the champagne flutes are the hand painted flutes that come with the perrier jouet gift set. my mother loved perrier jouet, so i have a set of about 20 of these flutes. lucky me!

all in all, i spent maybe $30 on this table. and, i think it's my favorite. i love casual elegance, and this table just makes me feel happy and easy.

if you have pretty china, crystal, and silver or you know someone who does, you can borrow them. if you can't borrow, then you can rent plain white china, and simple flatware and stemware. or, you can opt for a more casual table and use some fun, pretty everyday stuff.

i'm really excited about these tables. i think we can easily create this wedding for $5000!

Comments

The second table is my favorite, but I think I would prefer it with the centerpiece from the first table - it's a bit looser and seems a bit more casual. I never really associate roses with the beach, but where I live on the south shore of MA, hydrangeas and the beach go hand in hand.